As the epicenter of the North American oil boom, this town was a magnet for blue-collar job seekers. But the collapse in crude prices means truck-choked Williston is no longer the land of opportunity it was less than a year ago. “I tried to get in on the oil rigs, but by the time I got here they were laying off,” says Jimmy Sidwell, who arrived in Williston from Atlanta in January. He had figured the oil fields were one of the few remaining places where he could earn a good salary without having a college degree. Instead, Mr. Sidwell has been digging ditches and sleeping in motels, hoping that something better will open up. “It’s like everyone is here looking for the pot of gold,” he says. In 2008, energy companies figured out how to combine […]